Rotary device for printing, slitting and rewinding elongated webs



Feb. 7, 1961 ROTARY DEVICE 1 Filed June 13, 1955 J SCHMUTZ REWINDING ELONGATED WEBS OR PRINTING, SLITTING AND 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Jul/05 J 69 107 Z BY 2 I 2 E 1951 J. SCHMUTZ 2,970,535

ROTARY DEVICE FOR PRINTING, SLITTING AND REWINDING ELONGATED WEBS Filed June 13, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

JUZ/US' SCH/70,72

Un edsaw P re o 7 ROTARY DEVICE FOR PRINTING, SLITTING AND REWINDING ELONGATED WEBS Filed June 13, 1955, Ser. No. 514,940 16 Claims. (Cl. 101 178) In rotary presses for printing elongated webs of paper, it is necessary to feed the paper to the press under tension and maintain it within the press under tension.

While the degree of tension unquestionably varies from time to time and from place to place within the press, it normally does not vary to such an extent as to affect register seriously or prevent the securement of consistently good printing results. These paper printing presses, however, do not give consistently good printing results in the printing of deformable webs composed of polyethylene and other like readily deformable materials. When these materials are subjected to tension and to varying degrees of tension, they become permanently elongated, wrinkled 'or otherwise deformed and such deformation prevents the securement of good register and of consisterily good printing results. Y The principal objects .of this invention are: to provide a novel rotary press which is. capable of givirig consistent- 1y. goodlresults inprintingelongated deformablevvebs composed .of materials such as polyethylene; to provide an extremely simple form of rotary devicefor'such' printing; and to provide one which may be easily,.quickly, simply and inexpensively converted from a rotary polyethylene press to a rotary paper press and vice versa.

In printing elongated webs of sheet material for the bag manufacturing art, it is customary to following the printing operation with a rewinding operation in which the web is rewound back into a roll which can then be processed into-bags by the bag manufacturer. Rewinding into a satisfactory roll, however, presents its diflicnl ties with the result that, in most of thep'rinting presses having a rewinder, the greater part of the entire unit is taken up by the rewinding mechanism. In fact, it is, not

uncommon to find the rewinding mechanism costing more thantherotary printing mechanism. Other'impor tant objects of this invention are: to provide a rewinding mechanism which is of extremely simple nature; to provide one which will-consistently rewind'elongated webs uniformly to produce neatly rewound rolls having evenrtrim and square cut ends;.and to provide one which is suited for use with any of the foregoing webs.

' A further object isto provide a simple, inexpensive andefiective form of web slitting mechanism for usewith my improved rotary device. Furtherobjects are; to provide a simple rotary device forthe high speed printing, slitting and rewinding of 2,976,535 Patented Feb. 7, 1961 the constantly changing diameters of the supply and rewind rolls, transferring the supply web from supply roll to the impression cylinder preferably at the area of interperipheral engagement, printingthe web as it is carried or conveyed by the impression cylinder and transferring ,the printed web fromthe cylinder to said rewind roll preferably at the area of interperipheral engagement.

Polyethylene supply webs are usually wound under a slight degree of tension. When a supply roll of a web of his character is placed in interperipheral engagement with an impression cylinder, the degree of tension that exists in the web on the supply roll willrernain unchanged on the impression cylinder because the latter carries the web away from the supply roll at exactly the same rate at which the supply roll feeds the web to the impression cylinder. The same is true in rewinding when the cylinder and rewind roll are in interperipheral engagement. Here the tension of the web is notaffected since the web is re- Woundby the rewind roll at exactly the same rate as it is fed by the cylinder to that roll.

A rotary press of the foregoing character can be easily, quickly and inexpensively converted into a paper press simply by raising and holding the supply roll out of engagement with the impression cylinder while driving the supply roll at whatever slightly lower speed is required to give the desired degree of tension.

The slitting of the web into two or more narrower webs can'be easily and simply accomplished along the path of the web on the cylinder by raising the web slightly outof contact with the cylinder in a manner so that only an extremely short section of the web is out of contact with the 'cylinderat any' one time andsli'ttingthe raised web, j g The invention is'illustrat'ed in the accompanying draw ings' wherein:

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side'elevational view of a rotary printing press constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the Fig. 1 press, the printing rollers shown in Fig. 1, being omitted; and

Figs. 3 and 4'are fragmentary end and face views illustrating the change made in converting the press of Figs. land 2.for usewith apapcr'web.

Polyethylene printing, slitting and rewinding- The embodiment of invention which is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2,-is intended to perform theoperations of V combination with either or both of the other two operaelongated webs; to provide a rotary deviceof this char acter which, in one form, is suited for the printing of prssaiw'q nd 9 th t h p r phe al. speeds otall three members of th is cluster are alwaysthesame despite tions. This embodiment, more or less specifically stated, comprises: a massive'frame; a rotary cluster including a cylinder and first andsecond web rolls, the periphery of said cylinder providing a snug support for a web extending from one roll to the other; means mounting the members of said cluster on said frame for rotation about parallel axes, said rolls also being mounted for movement bodily toward and away from adjacent peripheral sections of said cylinder, means yieldably holding eachroll in interperipheral engagementwith its I particular section of s'a'id'c'ylinder'; the periphery of said cylinder providing a substantially continuous web supporting surface extending substantially from one area of interperipheral en gagement to the other; drive means for rotating one member of said cluster, said interperiphe'ral engagements being operative to rotate the other members thereof and to maintain the peripheral speeds of the rolls at the same yalue as the peripheral speed of the cylinder so that web is. unwound fromonertfll nd Simultaneouslydeposited gametes moved from said cylinder and simultaneously deposited on the other roll; means for printing the web on the cylinder; and means for slitting the printed web.

The frame is of the massive character conventionally employed in the printing press art. It is provided with vertical sidewalls 11 and 12 which are of substantial thickness.

The members of the rotary cluster comprise: the impression cylinder 14 and its shaft 15, the web supply roll 16 and its shaft 17; and the web rewind roll 18 and its shaft 19.

All three members of the cluster are mounted on the sidewalls 11 and 12 of the frame 10 for rotation about parallel axes; hence, with their shafts 15, 17 and 19 in parallel relationship. Additionally, the rolls 16 and 18 are also mounted for movement bodily toward and away from different, preferably adjacent, peripheral sections of the cylinder 14. Thus, the supply roll 16 has theends of its shaft 17 rotationally mounted on the free ends of a pair of arms 21,. the opposite ends of which are pivotallymou'nte'd on the'frame 10 through a shaft 22. Similarly, the rewind roll 18'has the opposite ends of its shaft 19 rotationally mounted upon the free ends of a pair of arms 24, the opposite ends of which are pivotally mounted on the frame through a shaft 25.

The means for yieldably holding each of the rolls 1'6 and 18 in interperipheral engagement with its particular section of the cylinder 14 may comprise any suitable arrangement of springs or other mechanism for biasing the rolls towardand. into yieldable contact with the cylinder. For thispurpose, the force of gravity is utilized in the present invention by locating both of the rolls 16 and 18 over the upper'half. of;the cylinder 14 and so arranging their respective pivpting arms 2-1, and 24- asto cause-the rolls to rest gravitationally upon the upper surface of the 4. ally driven in synchronism with the impression cylinder 14. by means not shown.

It may be noted that, when the printing rollers 30-33 are in operative engagement with a web on the impression cylinder, the type should normally press against the web with a force sufficient to indent the web to a depth equal to and preferably greater than the thickness of the ink'film which is printed upon the web. Since there are practical limitations on the printing pressure, the ink film should be relatively thin. The ink should contain asubstantial percentage of coloring matter in order that its thin film may cover well. Any of the conventional inks for this type of. operation. may be employed, a fast drying ink of the oil type being preferred.

In lifting and slitting the web, care must be exercised to avoid its deformation. Good results have been obtained with the slitting means illustrated which comprises: a fine wire stretched axially across the periphery of the impression cylinder at a position close to but out of contact with the cylinder and under the web; and means holding one or more knives adjacent the wire with their knife edges pressed resiliently and inwardly against the web, separated slightly from the cylinder by the wire, with suflicient force to slit the web passing therebetween.

The wire should be of small diameter and of substantial tensile strength, such as a piano wire. It is anchored at one end in press frame wall 11by any suitable means 36. At its other end, it is attached to a tensioning means 37 mounted in the other sidewall 12 of the press frame; Both of the wire mounting means 36 and 37 should be radially adjustable in order to cylinder, preferably adjacent to but. on opposite sides: of

one area of interperiphcral engagement to the other. Each.

area of interperipheral. engagement preferably is. asweb transferring area.-

With interp'eripheral engagement as aforesaid, it is necessary only for the drive means to rotate one member of the cluster, because-the interperipheral engagements within the cluster will be. operative to rotate the other members thereof and to maintain the peripheral speeds of all members atthe Same value and thus insure'that web will be unwound from one roll and simultaneously trans.- ferred to and deposited on the cylinder at the same lineal speed as it is removed from the cylinder and simultaneously' transferrejd toand deposited on the other roll;

While the drive means may be connected to any member of the cluster, it preferably is-connected to the impression cylinder 14, first, because it normally will be the largest and heaviest' me'mber of the'cluster and, second, because its peripheral speed may be more readily controlled since its di'ameterfdoes'not' change during afgiven operation or run. Accordingly, the shaft 15 of the cylinder 14 is provided with a: ringgear 26 which isdriven: by a pinion: 27 from. any suitable prime-mover not The illustrated embodiment. includes: four printing rollers 30,. 31, 321 and 33' rotationally" mounted on. the.

frame 10 at appropriately spaced intervals around and in facilitate the positioning of the Wire at a desired distance from the surface of the cylinderv 14 in order to lift'the web slightly away from the periphery of thercylinder 14. 'Each cutting knife 39 is operatively positionedwithits cutting edge pressed yieldably against. the web whereit issupported from the cylinder 14 by thewire 35. Each knife is'mounted on a cross bar 40 which is rigidly secured at its opposite ends to the free ends of a pair of arms 41, the opposite ends of the arms being pivotally mounted on shaft 25 for angular movement independently of the shaft. The force 'of gravity is relied upon to press the cutting edge of each knife inwardly against the web with the requisite cutting force, but this force may be supple, mentcd or reduced by springs, weights, counterweights and other equivalent means. i

In operation, a web from the supply roll is transferred to the impression cylinder at the area of interperipheral engagement, passed. around the lower part of the cylinder to' the interperipheralweb transferring area betweenthe cylinder and the rewind roll on which web is rewound; When the 'drive means. is energized to rotate the impression cylinder at adesired peripheral speed, the cylinder will rotate both the supply and the rewind rolls at the same peripheral speed. This arrangement prevents any relative movement between different portions of the 'web from the time it leaves the supply roll to the time. it reaches .the rewind roll; hence stretching, wrinkling, and sagging is prevented, register is insured and smearing 1S avoided. It is therefore possible. to operate it at high speeds up to 1000 feet per minute, more or less, and yet do quality printing work in either black and. white orm multi-colors since extremely accuate register is easy to obtain and maintain. I J I Wherea slitteris employed, the web will be rewoundin the formof two or more separate rolls but again, due to the precise control of the web, each separate roll: will be accurately and evenly rewound into a neat and uniform roll havingsquare cut. ends. While the. slitting arrangement compels the. web to leave't'he'periphery' of'the impression'cylinder for a brief interval during itstraveh.

, I have found that the inked impression does not smear or offset when the web is rewound. particularly if the web is allowed to age for a short period, 24 hours being recommended. Apparently, each bit of printed ink lies in the bottom of the depression made by its type and either does not touch the adjacent layer of the rewound web at all or does touch it but with a pressure lighter than that required to effect .a transfer of ink. It is easy to understand that smear is avoided because there .is no relative movement between the adjacent layers of the "web.

Paper printing, slitting and rewinding The foregoing polyethylene press may be readily adapted for use with elongate nondeformable webs, such as paper webs. The conversion of the polyethylene press to a paper press may be accomplished in a simple and effective manner by providing an accessory rotary unit with two circumferential surfaces, one slightly larger than the other, driving the larger circumferential surface at a speed approximating the peripheral speed of the cylinder, and using the smaller slower circumferential surface to drive the supply roll at the same slower peripheral speed.

Accordingly, I provide an accessory roll unit comprising: an accessory roll 45 having a suitable shaft; and a gear 46 mounted on the shaft to rotate therewith. This unit is interposed between the cylinder and the supply roll with its gear 46 meshing with the gear 26 of the cylinder unit and with the circumference of roll 45 engaging the periphery of the supply roll 16. Since the pitch diameter of the large ring gear 26 approximates the diameter of the .cylinder 14, their respective peripheral to impose the desired degree of tension upon the paper web as it is being fed from the supply roll around the accessory roll 45 to the cylinder 14.

It will be understood that the accessory roll is rotationally mounted on the side walls of the frame in a manner permitting its ready removal. It will therefore be appreciatetd that this press may be easily and quickly converted from one form to the other. Its operation as a paper press is identical to its operation as a polyethylene press, except for the creation of tension in the paper web.

The term, deformable web, is used herein to designate polyethylene and like webs which tend to become permanently stretched or deformed if and when the tension of the web, as supplied, is increased. The term, nondeformable web, is used herein to designate paper and like webs which require additional tension during the re'winding and other operations and which do not tend to become permanently stretched or deformed if and when the tension of the web, as supplied, is increased.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A rotary deformable-web printing device comprising: a massive frame; a rotary cluster including a massive impression cylinder and web supply and rewind rolls for said deformable-web, all mounted on said frame for rotation about parallel axes, said impression cylinder having a relatively large diameter and weight in comparison with the diameters and weights of the supply and rewind rolls when they are empty of web, said rolls also being mounted for movement bodily toward and away from adjacent peripheral sections of said large impression cylinder; means yieldably holding each roll in nonslipping interperipheral web-transferring engagement with its particular section of said large cylinder; over one half of the periphery of said large cylinder providing a substantially continuous web supporting surface from one area of interperipheral engagement to the other; frame-mounted means for mechanical printing en: gagement with theweb on said web supporting surface; and drive means for continuously rotating said large cylinder, said interperipheral engagements being operative to'rotate the other members thereof and to maintain -all peripheral speeds of said cluster members at the same value so that web unwound from one roll and simultaneously deposited on said large cylinder at the same lineal speed and under the same tension that it is removed from said large cylinder and simultaneously deposited on the other roll.

2. The device of claim 1 in which each roll .is rotationally mounted on the fre ends of a pair of spaced arms and the opposite ends of said arms are mounted upon a shaft which is pivotally carried by the frame.

3. The device of claim 1 in which the rolls are located on the upper side of the large cylinder and the force of gravity yieldably urges them toward the large cylinder.

4. The device of claim 1 including: a web slitter positioned close to but out of contact with the periphery of said large cylinder; and means for directing the adjacent section of a web into operative contact with the slitter.

5. The device of claim 4 in which the web directing means comprises a fine wire stretched axially between the large cylinder and the path of the web and adjacent to but out of contact with said large cylinder.

6. The device of claim 5 including: means for adjustably tensioning said wire.

7. The device of claim 1 including means to convert it for use with another or nondeformabldtype of web and cause to to tension said other type of web comprising: an accessory roll; means for removably mounting the accessory roll for rotation about an axis parallel to said axes and in a position located between the, large cylinder and the supply roll, which must-be moved out of engagement with the large cylinder, said accessory roll being mounted with its periphery spaced from the large cylinder but in yieldable interperipheral web-transferring engagement with the supply roll; and means to d-rive the accessory and supply rolls at a peripheral speed slower than that of the large cylinder.

8. A rotary printing device comprising; the device of claim 1 wherein said supply and rewind rolls are for another type of web material which is to be fed under tension to said large cylinder; and means for holding said supply roll out of inter-peripheral engagement with said large cylinder and for driving it at a peripheral speed close to but slower than the peripheral speed of the large cylinder so as to tension the web fed from said supply roll to said large cylinder.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein said holding and driving means includes: an accessory roll removably mountable on said frame in a position wherein it is interposed between said supply roll and large cylinder with its periphery spaced from the large cylinder but in interperipheral engagement with said supply roll.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein: the large cylinder drive is operatively connected to the accessory roll through the interperipheral engagement of drive and driven members; the drive member being mounted to rotate with the large cylinder; and the driven member being mounted to rotate the accessory roll and having a diameter larger than the diameter of said accessory roll.

11. A rotary device for tensioning and processing a web comprising: a frame; a rotary cluster including a cylinder, an accessory and web supply and rewind rolls, all mounted on said frame for rotation about parallel axes, said accessory roll being mounted with its periphery adjacent to but spaced from the corresponding periphery of said cylinder; said supply and rewind rolls also being mounted for movement bodily toward and away from the peripheries of said accessory roll-and said cylinder respectively; means yieldably holding the supply roll in interperipheral web-transferring engagement with the periphery ofsaid accessory'roll; means'yieldably holding the rewind roll infinterperipheral web-transferring engagement with the periphery of said cylinder; the periphery of said cylindef providing'a substantially continuous web supporting surface from adjacentthe accessory roll to the rewind irollgdrive means for rotating one member of said cluster 'tofdrive said cylinder and said rewind roll at the same peripheral speed; and means connecting the cylinder to drive the accessory roll ata'lower peripheral speed so that web tends to be unwound from the supply roll at a lineal speed slowerthan that at which'it-is removed from said cylinder-and simultaneously deposited on the rewind 12 In the art of printing, slitting and rewinding elongate deformable webs, such a s polyeth'ylen'e webs, a rotary device for supporting and moving the web along-a prescribed path throughthe device and for rewinding it at the end of said path; comprising: a massive frame, a succession of web-supporting rolls positioned along said path and mounted on said frame, said succession including a supply roll at the beginning of the path, a rewind roll at the end of the path and intermediate-rollmeans providing at least one massive intermediate roll -slipping interperipheral engagement with the immediately preceding roll through the interposed web, the intermediate portion of the web, from the supply to the rewind roll, extending in substantially continuous face-to-face web-supported engagement'with the underlying peripheral surface of'said intermediate-roll-means including more than one-half of the peripheral surface of said large intermediate roll; and drive means for continuously rotatingsaid large-intermediate roll so that all other rolls rotate at speeds determined by their interperipheral engagement, the alternate rolls of the succession rotating l4. Thedevice of claim IZincIudingmeans it slitting the web longitudinall'y 'as 'it'is conveyed from the su'p- 'ply roll to the rewind roll.

15. The deviceof claim 14 including means for print.- ing said web as it is conveyed-by and supported"on.,said intermediate-roll-means. l

16. The device of claim 12'includingmeans to con: I

'vert it for use with another or nondeformable?.1type'1of web and cause it to tension said other type of web comprising: an accessory roll; means for removably mounting the accessory roll for rotation aboutaniaxis parallel to said axes and in aposit ion located between the large roll and said supply roll, which must be moved out 'of engagement with the large roll, said accessory roll being mounted with its periphery spaced from-the larg'e roll but in yieldable interperipheral web-transferring engagement with the supply roll; and means to drivethe accessory and supply rolls at a peripheral speed slower than that of the large roll.

References Cited in the file of this patent 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS Scott Jan. 22, 1889 396,612 561,481 Brown et a1 June 21, 1896 1,353,634 Crandell Sept. 2 1', 192;) 1,563,382 Legg Dec.'1;'19"z'5 2,030,684 Coleman Feb. 11, 1936 2,097,067 Huck- Oct. 26,4937 2,574,941 7 Trozmuller N0v.' 13,: l951 v FOREIGN PATENTS r 113,348 Austria May 25,1929 

